Originally Posted by
FlyingNasaForm
I am looking at it from a supply and demand viewpoint.
If there are more people willing to do the job, than there are jobs, then pay will go down. Yes there are people willing to do the job for less, so by definition I am overpaid.
I know it doesn't appear that way because 20 years ago pilots made a lot more money than they do now, but times change. There is a large supply for pilots and low demand, which means that the price of labor is lowered.
Yes it sucks for all of us, but that's how it is, when the economy bounces back in 10 years or so, we can leave the industry for a more profitable one. Or perhaps the pilot shortage will return, and then we'll be the first to take advantage of a low supply of pilots.
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You mention to whatever it takes to turn a profit as if it's a bad thing.
I would rather be paid market wages for a successful company, than be overpaid at a company that just closed its doors.
I hope we can keep this discussion civil, I know it's a touch topic. I've done a lot of reading on economics and the free market is like mother nature, you can hold it off for a while, but eventually she'll break through the levees.
Yeah, she'll break through the levees, and leave a path of destruction in her wake. Look what happens when the free market runs wild, with no checks and balances. The entire American economy boarders on self-destruction, and billions are shoveled out in bailouts, just to keep the country's economic system from melting down. I'm all for a free market, but when it's left unchecked, things are bad for everyone. If airlines were all non-union, it would be like an unchecked and unbalanced free market. Management has a lot of say, when it comes to supply and demand. They can lower minimums to a pulse and a multi-commercial, they can lobby for the Multi-Crew Pilot License, etc. If we, as pilots, could do something to affect the curve, unions would not be as much of a necessity. It would be a check and balance on the free market. Without anyway for pilots to limit supply, there is no check or balance, and management has most of the control. Do you have any suggestions for limiting supply? One thing that is different with the pro-pilot position, as opposed to other professions, is that a pilot can become fully qualified through a private business. With other professions, it's necessary to become qualified at an educational institution. Because private businesses are so involved with the qualification of pilots, supply is not well checked at this level. A private flight school is always going to build up the pro pilot profession as being something that it is not. They will not limit the number of people coming into their business who are dreaming of a job as a pro pilot. They will do the opposite. You can still see advertisements about "pilot shortages", with pictures of smiling flight crews and shiny RJs, etc., put out by flight schools who want people to believe that this is some sort of dream job. With the pharmacist profession, for example, qualification is through an educational institution. They purposely limit the supply of people going through pharmacy programs, even though demand is extremely high for pharmacists right now. People who are still in pharmacy school, with still a year or two to go, are getting job offers for positions that pay 6 figures right off the bat. This is one example of where the professional has the upper hand, and unionism is mostly unnecessary. This is definitely not the case with the pro-pilot profession.